Different Paths
by Drifting17
Summary: The last conversation Sirius and Regulus had, just after Regulus became a death eater, and Sirius ran away. Both of them are thinking about the different paths their lives have taken, and what has led to this. Marauders era, and rated T for a little bit of swearing.


**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of these characters.**

It was just after lunch, the corridors were bustling with students making their way to classes. A 17-year-old Sirius had left lunch early, saying "there's something I need to do". James, Remus and Peter wondered what was so important, but decided not to push it. Sirius had been acting weird all day.

He walked quickly down the corridor leading to the stairs, frowning and paying little attention to the students around him. He ran his fingers through his past-shoulder-length black hair, a habit he tried to stop doing. When he reached the end, he turned left towards the dungeons instead of right in the direction of his next class. His frown deepened when he found the person he was looking for.

"Reg."

Regulus Black was walking with a group of Slytherins, muttering about something with them. He looked up at the sound of his name, and sneered when he saw who it was, masking the surprise he felt as his brother was talking to him at school.

"Padfoot." He replied, mockingly using Sirius' friends' nickname for him. The group around him snickered, though it wasn't really that funny. Ordinarily, Regulus wouldn't have been quite so arrogant to his brother, but he felt protected surrounded by the other Slytherins. That, and he had appearances to keep up. He couldn't afford to be seen sympathising with a filthy, disowned blood traitor, especially now that he was a-

"Is it true?"

"Is what true?"

"That you're a fucking _death eater_?"

There was a pause. A few passing students glanced at Sirius and Regulus as they walked by, wondering what the confrontation was about. The atmosphere was tense between the brothers as they glared at each other. Some of the Slytherins behind Regulus smirked.

"That is none of your concern." Regulus replied coldly.

"It's my concern if you've joined a group that goes around killing my friends!" Sirius said, his voice getting louder.

Regulus ignored him and continued walking past Sirius, his Slytherin crew following behind. His mother had told him he was not to talk to Sirius at school since he ran away. He supposed she was worried about him following in his older brothers footsteps and rebelling against everything they stood for. _Not likely_ , he thought, remembering how they had treated Sirius when he was still living at home.

"Don't do this, Reg."

Even without looking at him, Regulus could hear the note of pleading in Sirius' voice. It angered him. Since when did Sirius have the right to tell him what to do? Him, the new heir of the Black family? Sirius hadn't just left his parents when he left home, he had abandoned Regulus too, almost a year ago now. He had made his choice, so now Regulus was making his. His parents had been so proud when he had taken the dark mark, more than they ever had been of his pathetic excuse for a brother. "A true Black," his mother had gushed. "Following a proper and noble cause." The younger Black boy spun around, fury in his eyes.

"Don't tell me what to do, _brother_ ". He spat. "What would you rather me do? Become like _you_?"

Sirius looked taken aback from the outburst, his grey eyes widened in surprise.

"Like- like me?" he asked, stumbling over his words a bit.

"You're nothing but a muggle-loving blood-traitor, Sirius. It's a wonder mother and father didn't disown you as soon as you were sorted into Gryffindor, Merlin knows they never liked you. At least they can have one son to be proud of. Would you rather me become a family outcast like you? Mooching off your friends' parents because, really, you're _homeless_? Go fuck yourself, Sirius Black. You don't deserve that surname." Regulus continued, his voice getting louder and louder until he was practically yelling. He sounded like his father when he yelled. The few students that were left on the corridor were staring at the scene.

Regulus saw the hurt in Sirius's eyes and the blush slowly spreading to his cheeks and knew what he said had hit hard.

"At least I'm not out to hurt innocent people." Sirius replied quietly, some of the anger returning. "This war is only going to get worse, Regulus. Make sure you're on the right side when it does. This Voldemort guy is only out for power."

"Don't speak his name!" One of the Slytherins yelled. Sirius didn't see who, as a curse hit him directly in the stomach, throwing him backwards, onto the floor. He drew his wand and quickly stood up. It was a duel they wanted, huh? He was good at duelling, even if he _was_ outnumbered 4 to 1. If a teacher came, he probably wouldn't even get a detention. He could claim everything was in self-defence.

He quickly fired two non-verbal jelly-legs curses on the two Slytherins at the back, grinning as they fell to the ground with a thump. Reg pulled out his wand, but Sirius was faster, yelling " _Expelliarmus!_ " and letting his brothers wand hit the floor behind him.

He suddenly felt a pain on his right side as a scorching curse was fired at him, he thought, looking up at the castor, a smug looking 6th year in his Defence class.

" _Locomotor Mortis!_ " he yelled, watching as the Slytherins legs locked together, and he froze in place where he stood.

More spells were yelled by all five of the boys, other stray students ducking away and watching from the end of the corridor. As good a wizard as Sirius was, it was hard fighting 4 Slytherins, 2 of which were older and taller than him. He was also pretty sure they were using some darker magic, probably learned at home, as Hogwarts rarely taught students how to actually fire dark spells at each other, just how to defend them.

The adrenaline was alive in Sirius as he fired spells left and right, most of them hitting their intended target. He yelled a "Petrificus Totalus!" at the tall 7th year and was about to fire another, when he heard someone shout his name.

"Sirius?!"

He glanced to the left and saw James and Remus running towards him down the corridor. He turned back to the duel, but he had become distracted.

" _SECTUMSEMPRA!_ " Regulus yelled, waving his wand wildly at Sirius. A moment of confusion flickered in the latter's eyes, this spell wasn't one he was aware of. Then the spell hit, and he gasped, falling backwards onto the floor, wand dropping from his grip. Remus and James stopped running, watching Sirius, brows furrowed in confusion. Then they saw long cuts start to form on Sirius' exposed face and arms where his sleeves were rolled up. They were oozing blood. James looked at Regulus and saw the look of guilt flicker across his features, and it dawned on him that this was probably dark magic.

"Padfoot? You okay?" Remus asked, crouching down beside his friend. James fired body bind curses at all four of the Slytherins, furious.

"What is going on here?"

The crowd that had gathered at the end of the corridor scattered, revealing a very angry Professor McGonagall. She marched down the hall towards the 7 boys, 4 of which were just recovering from a full body bind curse.

"There is to be no duelling in the hallways! All of you, det- Sirius, what happened?" She asked, looking at the dark-haired teenager on the floor, who was currently gritting his teeth with the pain.

"Regulus cursed him, professor. I think it was dark magic. Me and Remus only just got here." James said, still panting slightly from running. He also crouched beside his friend, whose hands were shaking, probably from a mixture of pain and anger.

"Regulus, I should expect better! Dark magic is not tolerated _anywhere_ within these walls. Is this true?"

"He was cursing us, too. It was self defence."

"I hardly see 4 against 1 as much of a threat, and resorting to dark magic is definitely not how we defend ourselves. 2 weeks detention, and 50 points from Slytherin."

Regulus rolled his eyes and frowned, grumbling at the ground.

"And you three," she continued, addressing the remaining Slytherins. "Detention with me, tonight. I expect to see you in my office at 8pm sharp. 5 points from Slytherin, _each_. Now return to your lessons, you are already 10 minutes late."

They walked away, expressions dark. Regulus looked Sirius in the eyes briefly before he left, keeping his expression blank. Sirius looked away first, sadness evident in his eyes as Remus helped him stand up. That was it, Sirius thought. He had lost him. His heart ached with regret as Regulus walked away, following the Slytherins like a lost sheep.

He felt the same regret as he watched Regulus push around muggle-borns in the corridoors, wondering if he could've prevented this if he had just stayed at home. He felt it when he watched him soak up his parents' praise on the platform as he got off the train. He felt it as Voldemort rose to power over the years and attacked muggle homes, knowing that Regulus was one of the wizards underneath those hoods, killing innocent people. He felt it as he went through Auror training, worrying that one day he might have to face Regulus in battle. He felt it when the McKinnons were killed, refusing to believe his brother could do such a terrible thing to someone he went to school with.

But he felt it the most when a sleek black owl flew through the window one snowy February morning, dropping on the table a short letter telling him that Regulus had died. No matter how many times Remus, James and Peter tried to reassure him, he still felt like this was his fault. He wished he could've at least said goodbye, because despite all that had happened over the past 3 years, Reg was still his brother.

 **A/N: Thank you for reading! This is my first Harry Potter fanfiction, so reviews/constructive criticism would be really nice and much appreciated. :)**


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